`Romeo Virus' sweeps through Penn computers

Penn computer users, arm yourselves. Throughout this week, hundreds of computers across campus have been infected with a virus spread through e-mail. The virus prohibits computer users from opening many programs, and instead sends the virus out to other e-mail addresses. The virus, named 'BleBla.b,' assumes the role of a "middle man" when a student attempts to open many types of files. Instead of directly opening the file, the operating system opens the virus first. In the meantime, the virus sends itself out to all the names on a student's contact list, according to Computing Manager and Engineering sophomore Josh Gilper. The program that users intend to open will not start up and could be destroyed. "The virus spreads fast," warned Information Technology Advisor and Wharton and Engineering freshman Matthew Lattman. "Faster than any virus I've ever seen." The virus -- which originated in Poland and was first detected at Penn this Sunday -- can be recognized by the subject line which can range from "Romeo and Juliet" to "merry christmas," according to an e-mail sent out to on-campus students by College House Computing Associate Director Amy Phillips. The virus only affects computer systems that use Outlook or Outlook Express to open their e-mails. However, this virus -- sometimes referred to as the "Romeo Virus" -- is relatively tame and easy to fix, according to both Gilper and Lattman. "I haven't found any permanent damage caused by this virus," Lattman said. Gilper, who said he now receives about 20 infected e-mails an hour, added, that "compared to other viruses, it's really easy to remove." Gilper wrote one of the first programs to remove this virus, which along with several others, "have been floating around the ITA listserv," Lattman said. Gilper's advice is that computer users not download e-mail attachments that resemble the names of the e-mails sent out by the virus. "My suggestion is when [you get an e-mail that you suspect is infected] just constantly hit 'no' or 'cancel.' Install the latest virus scan which Penn offers for free and run the latest virus updates," he said. Phillips also had advice for those whose computers have the virus. "It is also recommended that if you are infected, you stop using your computer until it is cleaned. This virus appears to damage files progressively -- the more you use your computer, the more files become infected," Phillips wrote in her e-mail. "The reason this has spread is because people don't update their virus software," Lattman added. "They think because they have an old version of Norton on their system, they're going to be protected and that's just not true." For College freshman Lauren Gorsky, whose computer was infected with the virus, this advice was too little, too late. She received an e-mail with the subject "Romeo and Juliet" and, knowing the sender, decided to open it. She attempted to open the attached file and immediately her computer froze. Gorsky had neglected to update her virus protection. "It limited my Internet access -- I had no Internet access," she said. Within three hours, the problem was solved, thanks to the "awesome" ITAs, she said. "It was a hassle but fortunately with the help of campus ITAs, they tackled the problem and everything is fine now," she said. "I guess next time I'll be careful of the subject and make sure I was expecting it." Lattman predicts that the virus will be relatively short-lived. "Give it a week and a half and it will all blow over," he said.

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